The Americans: "Covert War"Review

I was really glad to see General Zhukov come back into play this week, even if it was for a swan song. I assume Zhukov was written out after the pilot because Claudia’s introduction made him a redundant character, but I always enjoy when a show picks up loose threads like this. And while Zhukov died in the first scene we saw him in, his presence was felt throughout the hour, both via flashbacks to him and Elizabeth’s close relationship and via the revenge mission it sent Elizabeth on.

On the surface, Elizabeth is a closed off character, but obviously, we know she cares deeply for her family – and now she has lost two people she cared deeply for, with Gregory and Zhukov, within a matter of days. That being the case, it makes sense that she wants to mend things with Phillip, which makes it all the more sad when he doesn’t get the message (or chooses to ignore it) and announces he’s moving to a new apartment. This still seems like a rather early time in this show’s life to even do a separation storyline, but Elizabeth and Phillip are such strong characters, it certainly is resonating.

I do wonder about Elizabeth’s decision to let Patterson go though. Given the fact that he saw her up close, dorky disguise aside, and heard her voice for a long time, it just seems rather dangerous to leave him alive, at this point. We've seen the Jennings make some very tough decisions that they didn't like making, but felt they needed to do - and it just seems like we skipped over a discussion here about whether letting Patterson go was even possible, once they took him.

Claudia meanwhile remains a wonderfully mysterious figure. Just how manipulative is she? Elizabeth decided Claudia was lying about her own romantic relationship with Zhukov, but could Elizabeth be wrong? The fact that both possibilities seem valid is what makes it so much fun and Claudao and Elizabeth’s scenes together are excellent. Keri Russell is awesome to behold saying lines like, “This isn’t going to go well for you, old lady," and Margo Martindale of course is an excellent sparring partner as these too continue to face off.

Stan in the meantime tried to end the romantic/sexual portion of his relationship with Nina – but it seems Nina may know a thing or two about manipulation herself, in another well-played scene. Her seemingly resigned reaction to his decision was followed by her oh-so casually disrobing in front of him (under the guise of changing) and an expression on her face that certainly leans towards, “I need to keep this guy tied to me.” And who can blame her? He’s become her lifeline and, as far as she knows, her only hope to get out of this situation. Nina telling Stan, “I only have fear and you” said it all – even as the truth about what happened to Vlad seems ready to collapse upon these two at any moment.

In the midst of more of this great character drama, I continue to admire The Americans for being so evenhanded in how skilled and tough these characters are. While he couldn’t ultimately beat the younger man, Zhukov wasn’t just an easy target and fought back first when the assassin came calling. And Peterson also turned out to be quite a struggle for Elizabeth, in an exciting seduction turned fight scene inside a bar bathroom.